Lent: Scrabble, Arts and Animals

I'm playing Scrabble for Lent. I joined the Lenten Interest Group playing Scrabble. I have a tendency to become wildly addicted to Scrabble so instead of giving up an addiction this Lent....I am feeding mine.

Yesterday afternoon was the first Blessing of the Animals at the La Verne Church of the Brethren.

I went even though our dog died this year. It is still painful just to think about. But I was glad I was there. It was a nice celebration of the close friendship we share with animals.

St. Francis of Assisi was there.

St. Francis and Zandra made sure every animal was blessed.

As soon as the service was over Bryan and I headed for Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Bryan had read an article about a showing of women's surrealist art and wanted to go. Unfortunately, our schedules have never matched well. Weekends are some of the fullest time of my week and it is Bryan's down time. It is often hard for us to find time to be together. When we tried to find a time when we could go to see this art show together it looked like Sunday evening was our only opportunity.

The art was fabulous. Female surrealist art is different than surrealist art by men, especially in the ways women are portrayed. I was fascinated. There was some strong feminist art there! I found this piece with the queen stomping on the bishop quite intriguing.

....and this one of the woman trapped in the home.

But this one was my favorite.

After experiencing the art show we went outside and wandered through the lights.

A Rainy Weekend

It was a rainy weekend but the All-Church Workday went on. Several men skilled at carpentry shortened the two ends of one pew so that we would have more pews available for those with mobility needs.

Others came to dust and clean cobwebs.

My goal was to get all the stuff back into the ushers closet that needed to come out when we were working on solar.

Sunday I walked over with the youth to Warehouse Pizza. We ate pizza.

Took pictures.

And played games. I had a blast.

Life is Full

It was a full weekend. On Saturday, I went to Bonelli Park for a Memorial Picnic in honor of Don Clark. Don used to plan a picnic there every Labor Day. He invited his family and encouraged them to invite everyone who was important to them. He believed in bringing people together. His children decided to throw a picnic on his birthday. It was a lovely event and I had some delicious food.

I came home and got ready for Chelsey's & Mike's wedding. Many people pitched in their gifts and time to prepare for the event.

Chelsey's aunt Dena did the service. It was a beautiful day.

Oranges played a large part in the decorations. Eric Davis' paintings were displayed at the reception. Everyone was invited to take home a reusable bag full of oranges.

Sunday after church I got to celebrate the arrival of a perfect little girl to two people I love and respect.

I didn't get to spend much time with Bryan this weekend but luckily this was his Monday off. Bryan said he wanted to go to the Aquarium of the Pacific.

We had never been before. We fed the Lorikeets.

We petted the rays.

We loved the jellyfish.

Life is full!

Church in San Francisco

Yesterday we went to church at First Mennonite Church of San Francisco. They meet in a Jewish synagogue next to the Dolores Mission. (There are advantages in not owning your building.) Finding a parking spot is impossible so we just parked in a lane in front of the church, along with others. We arrived early to meet Brett who was using public transportation. They use the blue hymnal, shared with the Brethren, and the Mennonite hymnal supplement. We sat next to Tina, who we knew from N. Manchester, Indiana.

The music was sensational. We sang songs we sing at our church: Take, O Take Me As I Am and Mayenziwe. They obviously know how to do four part harmony, plus we sang every song, at least partially, acapella. The average age of the congregation is young. Tina said that in the time she has attended the church, the congregation has doubled in size. I had met their pastor back in October in Michigan at the Supportive Communities Network pastors' retreat. She has been "disciplined" for doing a same gender wedding. She said that she wanted to provide the same pastoral care and services for all of her members. I liked her.

After church there is always a fellowship time, with good food and announcements before people head to Sunday School classes. We stayed for the fellowship time but ducked out of Sunday School. Instead we headed for Brett's favorite pub restaurant just a few blocks away. We ate lunch and played Scrabble. I won! Then we drove past the Greenpeace office building, where Brett has a desk. Then we went to Fort Funston. I love to go there to watch the hang gliders. It was an absolutely gorgeous day but not the greatest day for hang gliding. I had to be satisfied with beauty.

Exploring the East Bay

Brett had a flash mob event today with Greenpeace so he couldn't join us until afternoon. So this morning we picked up Matt and had a delicious brunch in the Claremont section of Berkeley.

Then we headed to provide transportation for the new amp Matt bought so that he can begin creating music.

Our next stop was to Lake Merritt in Oakland to meet Brett. What a beautiful place.

Brett took us to a Farmer's Market where I had a drink made of tea, orange juice, ginger and mint. Then we went to the open house of Kairee's new job -- Oakland Floats. It was cool. For 75 minutes you can float in a large enclosed tank of water and epsom salt. It is pitch black and the water is the temperature of your skin. The sensation is such that you don't know where your body ends and the water begins. After visiting Kairee we went back to Matt's home where Bryan and Brett fell asleep on the floor. I guess some people can sleep anywhere.

When they woke up we picked up Kairee and had a very tasty vegan dinner. We decided to go to see Stars Wars: Phantom Menace in 3D. First of all, there was no heat in the theater. Brett told them they should give us each free coffee. The answer was that they would refund us our $14 per ticket before they would give us coffee to keep warm. Really? Secondly, special effects have vastly improved since 1999 when it first came out. Bryan hasn't stopped imitating Jar Jar Binks since the movie ended. Tomorrow we are heading for church in San Francisco.

The East Bay

Bryan and I are in Berkeley visiting both our boys. We are staying next to the Berkeley Marina.

Brett had to work all day today so we picked up Matt and his girlfriend, Kairee, and headed for breakfast at a restaurant I read about on Yelp. After a delicious breakfast we decided to head up the hill to the UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens. We didn't know anything about it but we found it on my phone and decided, "Why not?"

It was unlike other botanical gardens I have visited. After enlightening tours through the succulent and the carnivorous plants greenhouses we ventured out into the larger garden. It was divided by areas of the world and the trees and plants in each region were the ones found in that part of the world. It was neat for Matt and Kairee to see plants they had experienced in Korea and Japan.

As we got further up the hill we found an amazing view of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Across the road, the botanical gardens has a redwood grove. We spent some time enjoying it.

Then we decided to find out what was further up the hill. More beautiful views. Matt and Kairee took the binoculars and found their neighborhood.

Tonight we went to Oakland for the First Friday Art Walk. I am speechless to describe the sheer numbers of people jammed into a few blocks who had come to enjoy art. As we arrived I saw a young man that Matt when to Jr. High with in N. Manchester, IN. Is that amazing or what? Here are a couple pieces of art I thoroughly enjoyed.

For a couple hours we tried to find dinner in a place where we could find a parking spot. We finally ate dinner after 10 p.m. To bed so we can enjoy another day with our family.